DOHA – Egypt’s national football team finished preparations in readiness for their tough encounter against Tunisia in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup semi-finals on Wednesday at 5:00pm (Cairo Local Time) at 974 Stadium in Doha.
The quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup certainly produced their share of excitement. On Friday, Qatar trashed the UAE 5-0 while Tunisia beat Oman 2-1. Then the following day, Egypt came from behind to sink Jordan after extra time, and Algeria prevailed against Morocco on penalties.
Now just four sides remain in contention for this coveted title: Egypt, who will take on Tunisia, and Qatar, who will face Algeria.
The winners will then square off in next Saturday’s final at Al-Bayt Stadium and the losers contest the third-place match at Stadium 974 earlier the same day.
Special match for Tunisian quartet
The meeting of the Carthage Eagles and the Pharaohs will be particularly special for Tunisians Ali Maaloul, Seifeddine Jaziri, Ferjani Sassi and Hamza Mathlouthi.
Both Jaziri and Mathlouthi currently play for Egypt’s Zamalek, while Maaloul plies his trade with fellow Cairo club Al-Ahly. For his part, Sassi was one of Zamalek’s most prominent players last year before his move to Al-Duhail in Qatar.
The game promises to see a renewed mini battle between Sassi and Egypt’s Al-Ahly midfielder Amr el-Sulaya.
“All the teams in this tournament are strong. We’re now focused on the Tunisia match. I hope we’ll all be ready for it and that we can go on to reach the final and win it,” Egypt captain Amr el-Sulaya said according to FIFA.com.
Egyptian quartet a doubt
Egypt and Tunisia encounters have always been hard fought and frequently decided by small details.
The most recent match between the pair saw Egypt win 3-1 on November 16, 2018 during the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.
The Pharaohs started their campaign at this Arab Cup with a narrow victory over Lebanon, before hitting their stride with a 5-0 defeat of Sudan and a draw with Algeria to win their group.
In the last eight, they came from behind to beat Jordan 3-1. For all that, the team has fitness concerns about Mohamed el-Shenawy, Ahmed Hegazy, Ayman Ashraf and Hamdy Fathy, who all continue having treatment.
This will be Egypt’s first semi-final appearance in the competition since being crowned Arab Cup champions in 1992.
The winner of the 2021 Cup will be given $5 million, and the runner-up will claim $3 million.
Bealili ready and Bounedjah available
Algeria’s Youcef Belaili resumed training on Tuesday and has been passed fit to face Qatar despite needing hospital treatment for a head injury after the Morocco game.
Baghdad Bounedjah will also be available after completing the six-day concussion protocol that followed his injury against Egypt.
This match will be a special one for Belaili, Bounedjah, Mehdi Tahrat and Djamel Benlamri, four Fennec players who ply their trade in Qatar and know many of their opponents well.
Asian champions face African counterparts
The Qatar-Algeria match is also a showdown between the reigning Asian and African champions, following their respective continental triumphs in 2019.
The hosts, for their part, are the only last-four side to have won all four of their games so far, they were too strong for Bahrain, Oman and Iraq in the group stage, before seeing off UAE in the quarter-finals.
Al-Annabi, who also went unbeaten during their Asian Cup triumph, have had the most potent attack at the Arab Cup, finding the net 11 times so far, compared to 10 for Egypt, nine for Algeria and eight for Tunisia.
Interestingly, the most recent encounter between Qatar and Algeria was a friendly that Qatar won 1-0. The Algerian Djamel Belmadi was then the coach of Qatar, while Christian Gourcuff was at the helm of Les Fennecs.
“We’ll face a strong team with experienced players, and it’ll be a very difficult game against Algeria. We aim to continue our successful run and win the title. We want to make history,” Qatar captain Hassan Alhaydos said.
In their quest to reach the decider, Qatar will be relying upon their prolific forwards, Almoez Ali and Akram Afif. Between them they have scored five times, almost half of their team’s goals.
Veteran midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem also plays a crucial role and has consistently performed for Al-Annabi in major tournaments over the last two years.
Hatem it was who stole the headlines after the 2019 AFC Cup quarter-final, when his blistering strike from distance earned Qatar a maiden semi-final berth. Then he was back for more in the final against Japan, netting his side’s second from outside the box en route to their first AFC Asian Cup crown.
